Like We Run
by Kuro-Ghost
Summary: Now despite the choices made, the outcome hasn't been great. Clementine, Luke, and Molly all have to find in it them to hold each other together and look after Aj. While still being aware of the dangers of this world. Can they make the right decisions? Will they even survive? OCs full! Elise from ThePaintedKittyKat and Matt from Shaun Of The Dead Banana. Thanks guys!
1. Prologue

I've been having thoughts for my own season three of The Walking Dead game. So I decided I might as well write some of it out. So here is a prologue to get the setting, feel, and background of my continuation. This is a bit back in season two, I've changed some events that happened, but it's still kinda close to the story in most parts. The Prologue is short but the chapters won't really be. Not sure how quick I'll be updating, so you are forewarned.

Prologue

Clementine covered Luke as he attempted to pull himself out of the freezing lake. She had tried to be brave so her hands wouldn't shake as she shot the walkers heading for them. The others made it across safely, but Bonnie had to try and be a hero. She just had to try to help Luke out. That's when the ice had shattered and they both tumbled into the deep icy water.

Clementine hadn't even needed to think twice when she heard Luke beat on the ice. She shot through the ice, right past him. The ice broke easily and she grabbed his hand. He managed to pull himself up, but as Clementine tried to help him the rest of the way out, she had fallen in herself, Luke grabbed her before she fell too deep or lost her bearings.

Jane had ran over and helped them both out and quickly rushed them inside. Clementine had asked about Bonnie, but Jane had just shaken her head. They had all argued over Kenny, Arvo, and who was actually working on building a fire, but eventually Jane had a fire built. Luke and Clementine had warmed up while Kenny worked on a truck outside. Once warm and dry Clementine went to talk to Kenny and ended up helping him fix it.

That night, Mike and Arvo and planned an escape and tried to steal the truck and most of the supplies. Clementine had caught them, and given Mike her gun right when Arvo had shot her in the shoulder. Kenny, Luke, and Jane had came running out, to see Mike and Arvo running off and Clementine passed out. So they packed up the truck and took off. Clementine woke up when they were about halfway to Wellington and Luke had explained what went on. They began discussing a plan on where to go.

Kenny had stopped a little later on to see if he could get gas from any of the parked, abandoned cars in the middle of the road. Luke, Jane, and Clementine had heard a gunshot and Clementine climbed into the drivers seat to try and drive away, but they had ended up crashing. Jane had then taken off with Aj and Luke tried going after her. Clementine had lost them and ended up finding Kenny in a truck stop.

Just then they seen Jane came in without Aj. She said he was dead. Kenny ran outside to see and Jane told Clementine to stay out of it, no matter what happened, and that Clem would see what Kenny really was. Kenny came back furious asking how she could kill a baby, Jane said it had been an accident. Clementine kept trying to calm them down and talk it out. Kenny and Jane fought and she ended up digging her thumbs into Kenny's eye and cut his stomach. They ended up outside in the snow, with Kenny forcing Jane's knife towards her own throat, and Jane fighting him off as much as she could.

Now Clementine has a choice to make, she must either shoot Kenny to save Jane, or let Kenny kill Jane. How will her life change depending on the choice she makes? What truly happened to Aj? Where is Luke during all this?


	2. Life With Jane

Life With Jane

Clementine

I just couldn't let Kenny do it. I knew he was upset over Aj but I also knew killing Jane was not the answer. So I did the only thing I could to stop him, I shot him. It hit him in the chest, he let go of Jane and laid back in the snow. I told him he's finally gonna get to see everyone we lost again and then he was...gone. It was really saddening to see him die, but I knew Kenny just wasn't meant for this world anymore. He just didn't have it in him to keep going, to keep losing people he cared about. With shooting him in the head, to make sure he didn't turn, it felt like the group I had first met was entirely gone now.

Luke came running over right after Kenny passed. He'd ran back to grab the bags we had in the truck, knowing we'd need them. He had asked what happened but didn't get a direct answer. I had been following Jane, about to question her over Aj, when I heard it. Crying. I ran over to the only car around, and in it, I had found Aj. Jane had lied to show me that Kenny had lost control of himself and all his patience, she said she hadn't meant for him to die. After some talking, I forgave her, somewhat unhappily, and we all walked together.

We ended up making our way back to Carver's old base, Howe's Hardware. There were no signs of anyone having been there since the walker horde. There was a good stockpile of baby stuff though. Jane said Carver must have been hoarding it for the kid he thought was his, Aj. Luke secured almost everything without any problem. But He said the connecting buildings weren't safe. We stayed in the main building that night. It became our base, we had no idea how long we'd stay but we were safe, even if it wasn't for long.

That's what led me to where I am now, in Howe's Hardware, with Luke, Jane and Aj. We've been here a couple of weeks. I'm still unsure if I should trust her with Aj. Luke even seems to be unsure of her. Ever since the Kenny thing she's been acting a lot different, nothing bad just not the same. She's been a little colder, more shut off. Luke normally can't get more than a few sentences out of her, and I do no better.

Today, I'm watching Aj while Jane and Luke work on the side where Kenny and Mike were once working and where Luke had hidden. Those buildings had places where walkers could get in. I looked at my walkie-talkie, we found them and decided to use them for when we weren't together, this place was kinda on the large side and someone always had to be inside with Aj. It was quieter than just yelling out to each other, which drew walkers' attention.

Aj had just woken up from his afternoon nap, so I decided we should do a quick lookout. I put Aj in a baby carrier I found. It has a little seat for Aj and he can sit either in front of me or behind me. I went up to the roof after I found the stairs. Once I got on the roof, I stayed low in case someone was around to see me. I looked all around and didn't see anyone for a while. I climbed up on the higher roof and sat down right when Aj started to get fussy. I was glad I had already brought a bottle of milk.

As I fed Aj, I still kept a watch out for anyone. Only walkers were wandering about, so I had nothing to be concerned about. Aj finished his bottle and I burped him before putting him back in his baby carrier. I decided to go put him back in his makeshift crib for a short nap before a diaper change when I saw a figure in the distance. The figure wasn't walking like a walker, more like a survivor. I knew they hadn't really had a chance to see me yet so I quickly got down and radioed Luke.

"Luke, there's someone heading this way, from the left."

That's all I had to say. I quietly and quickly made my way back to Aj's Crib. Luke and Jane passed me before I even got there. I laid Aj down and peered around a corner to see what was going on. I couldn't tell so I just sat over by the crib and waited to see what would happen.

"All I'm asking is if you can spare a can of food and a bandage!"

I heard a voice, it sounded a bit familiar, but I couldn't place it. I got closer to the corner, so I could hear better.

"I just don't know..." Luke sounded stressed.

"We just can't risk it if you're bit." Jane said coldly.

"I'm not bit. I swear, I just got a deep cut from falling off a roof, okay?"

I remembered where I heard the voice before. I picked up Aj carefully so I didn't wake him and slowly went over to Jane and Luke.

"Molly! It is you! I thought I'd never see you again!" I exclaimed in a hushed tone.

"Hey squirt. Whoa you got a little squirt with you." Molly's eyes opened wide.

"Yeah this is Aj, he's-" I started to explain but Jane cut me off.

"Clem, you know her?"

"Yes, this is Molly. I met her in Savannah." I looked at Molly and smiled. "She helped us a lot."

"Clem, she might be bit. Now, she said she's not, but I'm not sure about taking chances around Aj." Luke sighed before continuing. "So what do you think?"

Molly frowned at the mention of her possibly being infected. She gave me a small smile and lifted her pant leg up to her knee, showing a gash on the side of her leg.

"I was trying to swing to another building and Hilda slipped, I still had some momentum going though so I ended up crashing through a window." Molly shrugged.

"That looks like it hurt though." I gave her a sympathetic look. "I don't think it looks like a walker bite. I'm sure we're safe."

"Who's Hilda?" Luke asks sounding concerned, and gave me a sideways glance.

Molly just held up her ice pick that she used to scale her way around all of Savannah. "This is Hilda."

Jane looked at each one of us, studying our faces, before finally nodding. "If Clementine thinks it's okay, then it must be okay."

Luke unlocked the gate and let Molly in. I go and put Aj back in his crib. Molly took a needle, some thread and a bottle of rubbing alcohol out of her bag.

"I have most of the stuff, I just can't do it on my own. Also I didn't wanna stitch it up just to get it infected anyhow from being uncovered." Molly explained.

Molly and I talked about what stuff has changed and we all had some food while Jane fixed up Molly's leg, luckily it didn't need many stitches. Molly had a little trouble sitting still through the pain, but I kept her mind off it as much as I could. We chatted and told stories until it became night.

Luke was on watch since Molly came back. He'd come back down from the roof when he got cold, then he'd talk with us for a while before returning to his post. I noticed it was getting past the time he'd normally come back. I knew it was even colder now since the sun had set. I was feeling anxious and Jane must have noticed.

"I'm gonna go see what's up with Luke." Jane gave me her best calming look and went up to the roof.

Molly looked like she was about to say something when we heard a gunshot. It sounded like it came from the parking lot, not the roof. I heard another one that sounded like Luke's gun as I ran over to Aj and picked him up. I took him and went to the stairs with Molly right behind us. He started to make fussy noises so I had to make a face at him to quiet him down. Then I heard Luke run down the stairs.

"What happened?" Molly asked as I peered at Luke from behind her.

Luke was hurrying over to the spot where we had to stay when we were first brought here from the ski lodge. "Some asshole in the parkin' lot. He shot at us, hit Jane and she fell over here." Luke was speaking frantically and he seemed out of breath from running down the stairs.

"Is she okay?" I asked as Molly and I ran after him.

"I'm alright, just hurt pretty bad." Jane looked up at us from her spot laying on the ground. "Actually I'm gonna need some help up." She pressed her hand against her right thigh, where the bullet had hit her. Luke rushed over to her, since we didn't lock that gate.

"Damn, I can't believe we didn't notice him." Luke mumbled as he gently helped Jane to her feet.

"He blended in by copying all the walkers." Jane hissed as she put weight on her right leg.

"Heads up, someone's coming in." Molly warned.

I turned to say something back to her but she was gone. I looked all around before I spotted her. She had climbed her way up into the rafters. She held a finger up to her mouth as a sign to stay quiet. Then she held up both hands and made a 'get going' motion. I held Aj close as I ran and climbed up the pallets to hide. Since there were several stacks of different heights, I hid on a stack in the back that was shorter that the one in front of it.

I peeked over the top to see that Luke was trying to get Jane to hide. At least, that's what it seemed like. Then I heard a man's voice.

"Alright, this is my place from now on."

"Okay just hold up a second here." Luke started.

"No, you both leave. Now! Don't take nothing with you, just get out of here." The man sounded very angry and it was clear that Luke was fearful of this guy.

"A-Alright, just put the gun down. Come on, Jane, let's just go." Luke had his hands raised and was nervously backing up. Jane did the same.

I could see the man now, he was dressed in dark clothes and covered in walker guts. He had a good sized pistol and was aiming between Luke and Jane. He was closing in on them even though they were backing up. Then I noticed, he was almost in the perfect spot for Molly to jump down with Hilda. I knew she'd probably rip out her stitches if she did, but if she didn't Luke and Jane could die.

Jane bumped into something and turned to see what it was. Then it seemed like everything happened in slow motion. The man took a big step forward and pointed his gun at Jane. Molly jumped, swinging Hilda down at him with no chance of missing. The man was able to pull his trigger before Molly made it to him. I heard the echo of the shot, every single one of us yelling and seeing the blood from Hilda hitting the man right in the head. I quickly got out of my hiding spot and went over to the others.

"No, no, no, Jane, no." Luke was sobbing and holding Jane's body. She'd been hit in the head.

I gasped and felt tears come to my eyes. I held Aj a bit closer and took him over by the crib to sit. Molly limped her way over and sat down. We both knew it'd be best to let Luke get it all out of his system. It was easy to see he wanted to be alone. I rocked Aj and noticed he needed a diaper change. I busied myself with that while Molly cleaned her leg again.

"I tried to stop him." Molly was looking down sadly.

"I know, you did your best. If you jumped sooner, you probably would have missed, then we might have all been killed." I came to the realization myself as I said it.

"Clem's right. No one here is blaming' you. I thought I'd killed the bastard when I shot back at him." Luke said quietly. "It's too dark now and there's probably plenty of walkers out there, but in the mornin', I'd like to bury her."

"Of course, I'll help in any way I can" Molly said solemnly.

Luke moved Jane's body by the door and covered her with a tarp he found. I walked over to him after I got Molly to watch over Aj for a while. He turned to go back to where we had all been sitting and stopped when he saw me. I hugged him. He seemed shocked for a moment but then hugged me back tight.

The next morning, we buried Jane. I checked on Molly's stitches. Luke stayed pretty depressed the next few weeks but it was understandable. It seemed like everyone's death finally really hit him, which was okay, because that needs to happen in the grieving process. Unfortunately, they all hit him at once, so he was overwhelmed. I'm pretty sure most nights I could hear his quietened crying. He still kept watch, still helped with Aj, still talked to me and Molly some, but his spirit was lost. I sure hope it comes back soon, cause who knows what could happen next.

* * *

Edited. Guest pointed out that my Kenny would be a walker. I forgot to have Clementine make sure that wouldn't happen.


	3. Life Without Jane

Hey guys, thanks for sticking with me! I see we've got some random guests, so let me point out something. This is fanfiction. Which means it's not true to canon or real. So if someone seems out-of-character from the game, they're different in my story. Hope it's all cool.

OCs appear in the next chapter! Look forward to it!

* * *

Life without Jane

Luke

It's been about a month and a half since we buried Jane. My spirit is still broken but I've been strong. Molly and I have been taking turns to gather some extra supplies as we've needed them. Most of the nearby areas have been long since cleared out, so we haven't been able to find all that much. Molly's worried we will have to either move or find a working vehicle soon so we can take trips to areas that are further away.

Today, Clem's taking inventory of what supplies we have the least of for Molly. Molly's leg has finally healed up enough for her to not worry about opening the wound. Because of this she's decided to try and grab supplies from riskier areas. She says she knows of some places with locked doors and rooms that are just infested with walkers. She's promised that she'll be safe and not do anything that's too risky. I offered to go with her, but she says she works better on her own.

The sun rose about an hour ago and I've fed and changed baby Aj and laid him back down for a nap. Now, I'm on watch while Clem's checking shelves of everything we have. I decide to go check in on them. I come down from the roof and stand in the doorway. I watch as Molly stands up, probably ready to head out. I turn and head back up to take watch again from the rooftop. I hear the door open a few minutes later and panic for just a second until I see Clementine peek out.

"Hey Clem. How's Aj doin'?" I ask with a half-smile.

She smiles and tells me about Aj being fussy and wetting his new diaper right after she had put it on him. We laughed a bit over how silly and cute Aj can be. It makes me feel a bit better for a few minutes. I didn't mean to but I remember Jane after our conversation pauses. I feel upset instantly and turn away from Clementine.

"Luke?" She says, sounding a little upset. "Are you feeling okay? I know it's hard to be okay but..."

"I'm alright, Clem." I cut in, patting her shoulder. "Thanks for carin'. It's just..." I sigh and do a quick sweep before squatting down by her. "It's been real tough. I really thought Jane and I coulda had somethin'."

"I know. You really liked her. I miss her too." She says, looking down at her feet.

"Yeah kiddo." I pat her shoulder and stand up, going back to watching around. After about half an hour passed I decide to speak up again. "Clem, do you think...Nah, never mind." I shake my head and give her a small smile.

"What is it?"

"You talked with Jane a bit. I just wondered if you thought...maybe I coulda, you know, won her over?" I shake my head again and then smile at her confused expression. "I mean like get her to be my girlfriend. She said she wasn't interested in that, only..." I look away, feeling awkward. "Uh never mind that part. I just feel like I need to know if I woulda even had a chance to really be with her..."

"Oh. I dunno, Jane was kinda like Molly. She liked being on her own, she worked better that way. At least she thought so. I think she was just scared of losing more people." She says, attempting to be reassuring.

"Yeah. Sometimes it's hard to get close to someone, but sometimes it's really worth it." I stare off in the distance. "So you think I couldn't have gotten through to her?"

She appears to think for a few minutes before she finally answers. "I think you would have had to ask her out a lot and make sure none of us ever got hurt for a long time for her to consider it."

"Yeah, that's what I think too. Maybe if I'd had the chance to try...I guess it just wasn't meant to be." I sigh. "Well you better get back to Aj, he's probably gonna be hungry soon."

She nods and looks up at the sky. It was gonna be dusk soon. "Do you think Molly will be back before it gets real dark?"

"I hope so, kiddo." Luke gives me a reassuring smile.

I keep watch on things for a while, doing my best not to think of anything upsetting. It's been so hard, we've lost so many people. Most of them gone in the worst ways. I shake my head and force myself to pay attention once again. Watching the few walkers stumble around, I soon notice one that doesn't fit in. I begin to panic before noticing the clothes. It's Molly. Soon enough I hear a low whistle from below me, by the gate.

"Luke?" I hear through the static sounds of our radio frequency.

"Sorry Clem. Be down in a sec." I tell her.

I head down the stairs quickly and go to our entrance. Unlocking the gate, I grab a backpack before holding the gate open for Molly. I smile at her and she smiles back. Clementine sees this and smirks at us. I make a mental note to ask her about that later. Then I shut the gate and lock it back before bringing the backpack over to everyone else.

"Look Squirt! I found a whole buncha stuff!" Molly grins and holds up a backpack while turning slightly so we could see the one on her back as well, both looked full.

"Yeah, you've did one hell of a job this run." I compliment her while looking in the pack I'd grabbed. I begin emptying it and separating stuff into piles.

Molly tosses Clementine the bag she was holding before taking off her backpack. We sit down and empty all the bags and made piles of stuff. We now had more clothes for all of us, toys and diapers for Aj, Bandages, and even some food. We all grab a pile of supplies and start putting things away on the shelves. It took a few trips but soon we were restocked and all happy.

We decide that since Molly found us new clothes that we would change our wardrobes. I had kinda gotten really tired of wearing the same thing all the time. Clem decides to change Aj first. She put him into baby blue, footie pajamas. She lays him back down for now and I grab the clothes to pick from. Molly wasn't quite sure what size I wore or liked so she'd grabbed a lot of stuff.

I finally find a comfortable outfit. Now, I'm wearing dark faded jeans and a deep crimson long sleeve shirt. I pretend to model my new clothes and make a bunch of weird and silly poses for the girls. Molly starts pretending to take pictures. We're all laughing by the time I ask if it actually looks okay.

"I think it looks nice, but isn't that shirt a little tight?" Clementine says.

"Some shirts are made like this. They usually stretch after just a little..." I trail off, pulling at the shirt to try and help it stretch some. Molly just giggles at us. "Oh yeah thanks for the nice surprise thrown in the pile you gave me." I say giving Molly a mock-angry look before continuing in a sarcastic tone. "I'm so glad you knew I needed it."

"Oh? Well I mean I didn't know if they'd fit but I got Clem and I underwear too so I figured it was only fair..." She smiles innocently.

"I meant the pink bra you threw in!" I toss said bra right at Molly's face.

We all start laughing, even Aj joins in. Molly grabs another stack of clothes that she had had in her bag. She hands them to Clementine and she goes to change. She ends up in plain blue jeans and a faded orange/yellow shirt. She tells us that her shirt reminds her of a dress she was wearing when she first met Lee.

I start playing with playing with baby Aj. Clementine tells us that she plans to turn some of the extra clothes into bandage wraps tomorrow. Molly returns shortly, since she was the one picking up stuff she already knew what she was wanting to change into. She had some deep purple pants and a teal hooded sweatshirt. Clementine starts giggling and Molly gives her a slightly hurt and confused look so she quickly explains that we all are wearing different colors of our last outfits. Molly and I look at each other and then back to Clem and we start laughing too.

"Today has been a good day." Clem says, smiling.

"Yeah it actually has. Thanks Clem. Thank you too, Molly." I smile at them while I lay Aj down.

"Yeah no problem. I think this is exactly what we needed." She replies. We all nod and sit down to eat before bed.

"I can take watch tonight." Molly offers between bites.

"You just got back from a run, nah, I can do it." I shake my head, denying her.

"You've been up there all day, what if you get sick." Molly argues.

"I won't. Not in this snazzy new getup." I say, while motioning to my new outfit.

She laughs. "Fine I'll get a couple hours sleep and then I'll take over."

I sigh and give in with a smile. "Okay, fine."

I head up to the roof and start taking watch. Once again, I try my best to not think of everyone we've lost but it's just too damn hard. I miss everyone so much. I could have been there for them but I wasn't. I made bad decisions and somehow I'm still alive for it. I soon get lost in thought, but still manage to keep a look out for anything strange. After some time has passed I lift my head and scan the area, then turn and look behind myself, seeing Molly. I jump, startled, then mumble something similar to an apology at her before shrugging and looking back down.

"So what's up?" Molly starts.

"I just..." I sigh and look up at her. "I got to thinkin', it's like I just forgot about Jane. Cuttin' up and laughing. Like she didn't even matter." I confess, sounding both angry and sad. "And I had been mad at her. I mean, we weren't fightin' or anythin' but I was pretty disappointed with how she handled things."

"Oh..." Molly seemed unsure how to respond. "Well uh."

"Sorry, I shouldn't bother you about this." I sigh.

"No, no. I'm just...not very good with words. Look, I felt the same when Crawford took away my sister. I felt so bad going on without her, but I knew she wouldn't want me to be sad all the time cause of her. That's the opposite of what she wanted. Amy wanted me to be happy, always." Molly's voice cracked slightly. "Sorry."

"No, I get you. I, uh, really appreciate it." I say. "But, uh, who's Crawford? If you don't mind me askin'?"

"Crawford was an awful place. They didn't want anyone who was a drain on their precious resources. So anyone sick was turned away, same with kids. If you got sick, you got taken away." Molly pauses. "My sister was diabetic. I hid it for as long as I could, but they found out. They took her. I never saw her again."

"I'm real sorry to hear that. That sounds awful." I look down and sigh. "I just, never really learned that much about Jane. She wasn't one to really open up I guess. But she was real close to Clem. I...think I'm a bit jealous." I admit with a chuckle.

"I didn't really get a chance to know her. From what Clem says she wasn't bad, but she was like me. Worked better alone. Didn't want anyone getting close." She puts her hand on my shoulder, reassuring. "Sometimes it's just doesn't go how you want it to. And you gotta just forget about it."

"Oh, no. I am NOT gonna just forget about Jane." I growl, pushing her hand off and standing up.

Molly stands up as well. "I'm not telling you to. I'd never forget Amy, but I don't just constantly think about what I coulda done or why she's not here. I have to remind myself sometimes that I did everything possible to save her." She sighs, looking to her feet. "I just know it's hard to live with yourself sometimes, but sometimes we make it harder."

"Yeah. Yeah we do. I..I'm sorry for yellin' at you. And uh, slappin' your hand." I apologize, feeling like a jerk.

"Nah it's okay. So, uh, you okay now?" Molly awkwardly wonders aloud.

"I just have one more thing. See we had this guy, Kenny, southern guy-" I begin.

"Wait, Kenny? Did Clem know him?" Molly interjects. "I met that old fart. I wasn't the fondest of him. He tried attacking me, shot his gun and brought walkers out. Had to lead him and Clem back to safety."

"Oh, yeah, okay. Like I said earlier, I'd been upset with Jane. So she wanted to show Clem that he'd lost it. She hid Aj in a car and told Clem and Kenny that he died. Then Kenny lost it, attacked her and Clem had to shoot Kenny. That's when I finally found them, and Jane led us to Aj. Clem and I never quite forgave her. I know she knew. She acted a lot different after that." I explain.

"So you're upset that you were mad at her till the end?" Molly confirms and I nod. "Well, I bet that's tough, but I'm sure she understood either way."

"Yeah, probably." I respond.

We stand there for a few minutes. I take in everything Molly has said and consider it. I start to thank her when we hear the door open. We both turn and see Clementine sneaking her way back downstairs. I look to Molly and she nods, thinking the same as me. We walk over to her and I clear my throat

"I, uh, just got here?" Clementine yawns and acts as if she just woke up.

"Clem, you know eavesdropping is not very nice." I scold, playfully.

"I know, I just was really worried about you." She admits, hugging me tightly.

"I'm sorry, kid. I've just been feeling down lately. I didn't mean to worry you any." I tell her. She hugs me tighter and I know she accepts my apology.

Clem and I head back downstairs, letting Molly take watch. Clem checks on Aj while I double check the doors before laying down. We sleep on cots and while they aren't the most comfy thing, we do pretty well. I find myself looking forward to tomorrow once again. It seems like I'm finally feeling better and Molly is definitely helping.


	4. New Found Hope

Sorry for the wait, been busy and couldn't find the right way to write this, but I finally got it.

Also, just adding in. Under the title, whoever's name is there, is who's perspective it's in. So this chapter is in Molly's perspective. Last one was in Luke's. The first chapter is the only exception as it was a narrator's point of view. Hope this isn't confusing.

Also, thanks again to ThePaintedKittyKat for Elise and also Shaun of the Dead Banana for Matt.

New Found Hope

Molly

This morning Luke left to gather some more food and supplies, but he fed Aj before he left. Unfortunately I had to change him not that long after, which is always unpleasant. Now I'm taking watch from the roof. Clementine is working with the extra clothes and turning them into scraps for bandages and Aj is napping finally. He's been very fussy lately.

"Clem? Molly? Can y'all hear me yet?" Luke's voice called over the radio.

"I got you, loud and clear." I respond.

"I'm here too!" Clementine says over her own radio.

"Thank God, I've been tryin' to reach y'all. I'm about...uh, a mile away? There's some bandits, I think they're headin' our way. We gotta get a move on or get ready for a firefight." Luke says. Neither Clem, nor myself knew how to respond. "Y'all there?"

"Yeah. Look, I don't think it's a good idea to try and fight those guys. Clem and I will pack up as much as we can, okay?" I finally suggest.

"I don't wanna leave. I think we could take them." Luke insists.

"No way, I really don't like that idea. You'll get hurt." Clementine says.

"I..." Luke hesitates. "Alright, yeah, you're right it's a dumb idea. I'll be back soon, you girls get Aj and be ready to leave."

I head down from the roof and Clem and I start packing up everything that we can into the biggest backpacks we have. We get all our medical supplies and most of our food before Luke got back. I let him in and he helps us finish packing. Luke talks me into trying to wait out the night. He took night watch and Clementine and I went to sleep beside our bags, just in case.

"Molly, We gotta get. Those bandits are here." Luke mumbles, shaking me awake.

I get my pack on and hold Aj, while I wait for Clem. Luke tosses her bag to her and we get ready to sneak our way out the back. I hear some men talking nearby and I begin to get worried that we may get spotted. As we start moving away from Howe's I hear the front gate be forced open.

The group of bandits has about 20 people, from what I can tell, but not one checks around back. They either were all inside or out in the parking lot. We are almost out of range for them to see us when I hear someone yell. We all turn to see one of the bandits pointing at us and waving for some others. Without wasting any time we all start running.

"What should we do?" Clementine calls out.

"Uh...Let me think. Shit." Luke yells, running and trying to avoid tripping or getting caught by a walker. "That civil war place! Only place nearby. Molly, it's north of Howe's, about 3 miles?" He directs.

"Got it, but let's try to stick together." I shout back, focusing on keeping up and keeping Aj calm at the same time.

We keep running for as long as we can before we have to stop and breathe. Clem, who had made her way in front, waves us over to take a break. Luke quickly kills a walker before it decides to investigate us. We all look around and listen for a few minutes. After not hearing any voices, or other clues of us being followed we start discussing.

"Do you think they're still looking for us?" I ask, still breathless.

"I dunno. Possibly. We shouldn't stop for too long either way." Luke responds, looking around once more at the walkers who are finally starting to catch up with us.

Aj starts fussing so Luke takes him from me and changes him. Then we all sit down and eat, with Luke feeding Aj first and then eating. We eat our food cold since we don't want to attract more attention with a fire. We grab our packs and start walking through the woods. We decide to travel in the forest where we can see the road, but hopefully can't be seen from the road.

"So where are we gonna go?" Clementine asks.

"Hopefully somewhere warm. I'm not fond of this cold weather." I say. "Besides, I don't want Aj to get sick or anything."

"You know, I think I'd like some warm weather too. Clem, what's your say?" Luke asks with a smile.

"I like that idea." She says with a nod.

"So, where to?" Luke asks, glancing down at Aj in his arms. "A beach?"

"That sounds equally good and bad to be honest." I reply.

"Well, fine. What did you have in mind?" Luke scoffs back at me.

"I don't know. Somewhere kinda secluded without a lot of walkers." I mumble.

"Do you think I'll ever see Christa again?" Clementine interrupts.

"I, uh, don't know Clem. Maybe." Luke looks to me.

"It's alright, Clem, I promise. You found me again." I tell her.

"More like you found me!" She says, smiling.

"True." I agree and smile at her and Luke.

After a long bit of walking we end up finding some dirt back roads. And follow them to a house on some deserted farm land. It seems like no one has been here in a long time. Part of me feels hopeful by that, but the other part is worried. We decide to take our chances and go up to the house.

"Hello?" Luke calls, trying to look in one of the windows. "Anybody home?"

"Maybe no one lives here. I mean this place looks deserted." I say, shrugging slightly.

"Who are you?" A voice asks from behind us.

We all three quickly turn around, finding ourselves stared down by a woman with a shotgun. I notice her athletic style; Ginger-blonde hair in a bun, Adidas brand shoes, black leggings, plain black tank top, and a blue unzipped sweater. Luke motions for her to lower her gun as he slowly approaches her, hoping to calm her down.

"We're friendly, we just wanted to stick around a little while. We've been running for days." Luke explains, sighing.

She looks to each of us, before glancing at the baby in Clementine's arms. She lowers her gun with a wary look. "Alright. I'm giving you all a chance here. My name is Elise Ancelin."

"Molly." I say simply.

"And I'm Luke and this here is-"

"Clementine." Clementine interrupts.

"Right and that's Aj." Luke finishes.

"Nice to meet you all. Why don't we head inside?" Elise says, smiling and leading us into the farmhouse.

We actually managed to befriend Elise rather easily. Clementine was probably the reason, since she was the one telling the story of how we ended up here. I ended up watching over Aj as we all talked and got to know each other.

On the topic of learning about each other, Elise told us she is actually trained in medicine. I think she said something about the army but Aj started crying and I missed some of the conversation. If we can convince her to let us stick around, her medical skills will certainly help us out. Since Clementine has made friends, it might be easy to accomplish just that.

Soon, it's late and I finally calmed Aj down enough for him to get some sleep. Now the rest of us are eating and talking. Elise is talking about setting up places for us to sleep and who would take watch. After I finish eating I notice that the sun is setting. I go over to one of the windows and push the curtain aside to look outside.

A single figure was on the path. The figure didn't stumble, pause, or wander from the path like the geeks do. It had to be a person. Was it one of the bandits? Had they followed us this far? Was it just another survivor?

My first instinct was to tell everyone to hide, but I knew it wouldn't work. Not only could it be dangerous if the person found one of us, they had to know we're here. We have a few candles lit since it's getting dark.

Clementine spoke, shaking me out of my thoughts. "Molly, is everything okay?"

"There's someone outside." I say, turning away from the window.

"Who is it?" Luke asks, standing up. I raise my eyebrow and look at him confused. "Right, stupid question. How far are they?" He rephrases and comes over to the window to check for himself.

Elise comes over as well. "Seems to be alone."

"Yeah, yeah. That means we could take 'em if we had to. Right?" Luke says.

"We can handle whatever we have to." Clementine nods, a determined look on her face.

"Okay, everyone get ready." I say. "Leave the candles lit, so this person doesn't know we know about them."

Elise grabs her shotgun and prepares herself at the door. I stand by the window, barely able to see out past the curtain, ready to signal whenever this person is close enough. Luke grabs his machete and stands between Elise and I, ready to jump out along with her.

I watch as the figure slowly gets closer, pace never changing. I soon notice it's a guy. He's wearing a white hooded sweatshirt. As he gets closer I see he has a green beanie as well. He head is downward, as if he's cold or tired, but he looks around every so often. Smart enough to keep an eye on his surroundings. Maybe he ran into the bandits too?

I get pulled out of my thoughts once again by someone speaking. "Does he have a weapon?" Luke asks, keeping his voice low.

I nod slightly. "Baseball bat it looks like."

"So we've got the upper hand." Luke confirms with a optimistic smile.

The figure slowly approaches the farm house, glancing around. He seems somewhat nervous, but I remember we had been too when we first arrived. He steps up onto the porch and walks over to the window on the other side of the door. Now is the perfect time to signal and I do.

I wave my hand to the right, signaling to them that he's on our right and they quickly file outside, onto the porch. Successfully scaring the poor guy, he stumbles backwards and almost falls off said porch. From his sitting position he looks up at Elise with her shotgun, Clementine with her pistol, and Luke with a machete, all pointed at him and ready to attack.

"Hi there. I'm Matt. Please don't shoot me." He said, holding his hands up slightly and looking worried. His bat, dropped when he was startled, rolls slightly but he doesn't dare look at it.

I step into the doorway and glance over to Clementine, she gives me an unsure look. I then look over to Luke and see that he's staring down Matt. Elise seems to be looking Matt over, trying to decide whether or not to shoot him on the spot. I start to turn back to Matt when I hear it.

Nearly silent footsteps through the overgrown grass around the house. I can't tell if the others hear it. If they do, they don't show it. I listen closely, feeling my heartbeat speed up, knowing someone is about to come around the house. I start to feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins and I know what I have to do.

I grab my rock climbing pick, Hilda, from my back and rush towards Matt. Then everything is slow motion. I hear surprised voices as I close the distance between me and Matt. Raising Hilda and slicing down with precision, I know I won't mess up. I won't miss. I won't be too late, not again.

And I was right.


End file.
